Winemaker Chapel Down eyes AIM after record harvest
England’s largest winemaker Chapel Down announced on Thursday that it is planning to move to London’s Alternative Investment Market as it reported a record 2023 harvest.
Chief Executive Andrew Carter said the move reflected both the maturity of the business and its ambitious growth plan.
“We believe that a move to AIM will attract a wider pool of investors to participate in Chapel Down’s growth as the leading producer in the world’s newest global wine region and as we continue to pursue our well-progressed and fully funded plan to double the size of the business in the five years to 2026,” Carter said.
The plans come as the winemaker confirmed a record 2023 harvest. Chapel Down said that this year’s tonnage was 86 per cent higher than the year prior and 75 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2018. It is expected to produce around 3.4 million bottles of wine.
“Our industry has enjoyed remarkably favourable growing conditions this year, but converting this into a harvest of unprecedented scale and quality is thanks to the skill and commitment of our world-class viticulture and winemaking teams. English wine is enjoying rapid growth as it establishes itself as the newest and most exciting global wine region, and Chapel Down continues to lead the way,” the CEO commented.